Treated textile material



Patented Sept. 29, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1.... R $211113? 1:23; am.

ter, Wilmington, Del., Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, ]I)el., a corporation of Delaware assignors to American No Drawing. Application July '1, 1941,

Serial No. 400,692

12 Claims. ,(Cl. 57-1405 This application is an improvement on the earlier application of Schlatter, Ser. No. 271,123,

filed December 21, 1940.

This invention relates to a process of treating textile material in the form of yarns, filaments and the like to render them more amenable to textile operations, such as weaving, knitting and the like. More especially, it concerns the application of improved materials for simultaneously sizing and setting the twist of highly twisted yarns. It is also an object of the invention particularly to provide improved materials adaptable for application to textile materials by procedure of the type disclosed in patents 2,050,325,

r 2,009,232, and Re. 20,417. Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the description thereof.

Whereas the usual method involved in twisting rayon yam, at the present time, consists in preparing the rayon filaments by a preliminary treatment of sizing, waxing, oiling' or the like prior to passing them through the twisting proe ess, winding them with more or less twist upon bobbins, which are not knitting, weaving or shuttle bobbins, then setting the twist of the .yam on these bobbins, generally by steaming,

and then rewinding' the yarn upon knitting, weaving or shuttle bobbins or cones upon which the yarn is again subjected to steaming prior to the knitting or weaving to prevent untwisting and snarling, the patents referred to above disclose a procedure of winding the filaments with the desired amount of twistdirectly onto weav- 'ing or shuttle bobbins and setting the twist of the yarn by impregnating the wound yarn; in package form with binders either in molten form or in non-aqueous solution, passing the set yarn through the weaving or knitting operations, and

subsequently removing the binder materials used for setting the twist of the yarn by dissolving them in a non-aqueous solvent similar to that employed in the first impregnation of the wound package of yarn to set the twist therein. The binder materials, such as waxes 'and resins, employed in accordance with the patents are soluble in such non-aqueous solvents as carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethylene, alcohol, gasoline, solvent naphtha, xylene or other similar solvents, but are not soluble in water. While the solubilities in non-aqueous solvents, such as those mentioned above, are essential to adapt the materials for application to the yarn in package form, yet their insolubility in water or essentially aqueous solutions has the disadvantge of necessitatingthe employment of an additional step to form,

remove these binder materials from the yarn v after weaving or knitting, this additional step necessitating the employment of expensive nonaqueous' solvents and thereby further increasing ,the' costinvolved in employing the procedureof the patents.

In accordance with this invention, the difficulties and disadvantages arising from the employment of materials which require the additional step of removal by expensive non-aqueous solvents are overcomebythe applicationof binder materials which are both highly soluble in nonaqueous solvents, such as hydrocarbons, chlorin- .ated hydrocarbons, alcohols, etc.,

other textile operations to which the yarn is. subjected and yet sufliciently pliable and plastic 1 to adapt the yarn to be subjected to the severest flexing of knitting and similar textile operations; These materials preferably have low softening points within the range of and must have a dual character, that is they must contain a render the compound soluble in the nonaqueous solvents under theconditionsto be employed in applying the material to the yarn in package and also suiilcient hydrophilic content to render them scourable in water or aqueous soluwith reasonable facility. The solution of bindersmaterial must have to: the should not cause it ,tosweil;,--;. or soften and it should have no effect fon the.

It is important to emtions, such as of soaps,

low surface tensionand -must be inert yarn, that it, it

bobbin or other carrier. ploy an essentially non-aqueous solvent; otherwise, swelling tendencies exerted by the aqueous component upon the external convolutions of the winding would preventuniform penetration,

of the binder material throughout the wound yam which has a certain degree of susceptibility to water by virtue of 'hydrophilic groups therein. In the expressions essentially nonaoueous or substantially non-aqueous solvent, 1 such organic solvents ascontain not over about 5% of water, such as ordinary 95% alcohol, are intended to be included. To satisfy'this need for non-aqueous characteristics in the solvent,

and at the same time are sufficiently susceptible to water and their removal by an or- In carrying out the =in-' about 30 C. to C,

hydrophobic group or groups 'to the patentee employed binder materials soluble therein of essentially hydrophobic character which necessitated the useof similar non-aqueous solvents for their removal from the yarn after weaving and spinning operations. Nevertheless, it has now been found possible to employ binder materials having a portion of their molecules of hydrophobic character but being essentially modified to adapt them to subsequent removal by a reasonably mild scouring operation. Suitable compounds are the sodium salts of saturated fatty acids having at least 12 carbon atoms in a chain, and the partial esters of polyhydric alcohols with saturated fatty acids having at least 12 carbon atoms. The preferred embodiment, however, makes use of a compound generally defined as an ester of an anhydro polyhydroxy aliphatic alcohol with a saturated fatty acid of at least 10 carbon atoms, preferably from 14 to 18 carbon atoms. The word anhydro" is intended to designate those derivatives of polyhydroxy alcohols in which at least one pair of the hydroxyl groups have combined to produce a cyclic inner ether. All of these compounds are generally of a firm unctuous, soapy or waxy nature and have such low melting points (about 30 C. to 70 C.) that they are readily fused superficially by friction to provide effective lubrication of the treated yarn asit passes through the machines for weaving, imitting, etc. and yet do not yield such a low coefiicient of friction as to permit excessiveslippage of the yarn during textile fabrication 0pera'tions with consequent lack of uniformity of the fabric. These compounds very advantageously exhibit a high solubility in the low surface tension substantially non-aqueous solvents which are essential for the application of the material to the yarn in package form and at the same time have sufficient hydrophilic content in the molecule to permit of ready removal by a reasonably mild scouring bath, thereby eliminating the necessity to employ expensive non-aqueous solvents to effectuate complete removal from the yarn. Furthermore, these materials are substantially neutral and show no,

corrosiveaction' upon the knitting, weaving,'or

other textile yarn.

The esters of such anhydro polyhydric alcohols asglycide, sorbitan, mannitan, dulcitan, mannide' sorbide, and the anhydro derivatives of such alcohols ashexane pentols, pentols peruse,

arabitol, erythritol,-etc. with such acids as myristic, palmitic, andstearic are representative .of the compounds generally included under the machinery and are inert to the.

generic definition of the third and preferred class of compounds cited above. Of these compounds those having their hydroxyl groupssubstantially completely esterified have the additional advantages of being entirely neutral and substantially stable'with respect to their physical characteristics' of firmness, pliability and fricv tional .coefiicient under allordinary conditionsof-humidity. This stability gives additional assurance that the yarns wi11'yie1d fabrics having complete uniformity of weave 0r knit while permitting wider variation in the atmospheric conditions under which the yarns impregnated may be handled and thereby correspondingly reduces the need for air-conditioning equipment in the storage rooms or the textile mills employing the material. At the same time, these waxy synthetic materials are removable by reasonably as the technical grades supplied commercially by manufacturers thereof under the names of the individual compounds. In many cases the technical grades exhibit far greater dispersibility than the individual, pure and unmixed com-,

pounds both in the non-aqueous solvent employed-,irr applying the binder to the yarn and in such aqueous solutions as are to be employed in scouring the binder therefrom.

To illustrate one method for the preparation of the. preferred class of compounds, one mol of manmtol and two mole of palmitic acid are reacted in the presence of a mineral acid catalyst (for example, 200. of phosphoric acid) at a temperature above 200 0., for example at 240 C. for several hours until a product is obtained which has a hydroxyl number below 10 (as determined by the Roberts and Schuette method), and a saponification value of about 190. The product consists substantially of mannide dipalmitate, has a softening point of about 40 C., and is clear yellow in color.

Representative specific compounds suitable for use in accordance with this invention are:

Sodium stearate Sodium palmitate Glycerol monostearate Glycerol monopalmitate Mannitol distearate Erythritol distearate Mannitan monomyristate Sorbitan monomyristate Mannitan monopalmitate Mannide monopalmitate- Mannide dipalmitate Sorbitan monopalmitate Sorbide monopalmitate Mannitan monostearate Mannide monostearate Sorbitan monostearate Sorbide monostearate Mannide myristate palmitate In general, thepreferred procedure involves essentially the winding of the yarn with more or less twist onto a spool or other package, the impregnation of the wound package of yarn with an essentially or substantially non-aqueous solution a of the binder, then passing the set yarn through the desired textile operations, including a step of scouring to remove the binder 'after it has served its purpose.-

If the filamentary raw material is dry, it may be slightly oiled preparatory to the twisting to form the yarn. However, this oiling step is preferably omitted, and in such event, the twist ing may be applied: tothe filaments while in a the yarn package is dipped into a solution of 600 parts by weight of mannidedipalmitate (the technical grade available commercially) in 400 parts by weight of Stoddard solvent (a petroleum hydrocarbon fraction boiling from about 150 to 210 C.) heated to a temperature of about 80 C., and is allowed to soak therein for about half an hour to obtain uniform thorough impregnation. Under these conditions, it has-been found that no appreciable manifestation of the hydrophilic characteristics of the impregnantoccurs, so that no difliculties in obtaining uniformity of impregnation and of maintaining substantially the original tightness and configuration of the winding on the package are met with even when wound packages having a densiineter rating as high as 75 are treated. The package is then removed from the binder solution and the surplus impregnant is removed, preferably by centrifuging.

It has been found that the rate of drying after centrifuging, in cases where the binder is applied in the form of a solution in a volatile solvent, such'as Stoddard solvent, should be carefully controlled as too rapid a rate of evaporation of the solvent from the outside windings of the package tends to cause a wicking out from the center of the package, tending to concentrate a greater amount of the bindermaterial on the outer windings of the package. To prevent such tendencies a preferred procedure is to store the impregnated package after centrifuging in a fairly tight container to prevent substantially all evaporation of solvent mtil such time as it is convenient to transfer the yarn by winding it under tension to prevent untwisting upon another package preparatory to weaving, knitting, or other processing steps. During this rewinding, evaporation of substantially all of the solvent occurs as the yarn continuously travels to the second package, and the removal of the external layers from the first package is sufflciently rapid to prevent the wicking" out-and the resulting concentration of the binder upon the external convolutions of the package. It is preferable also to allow the rewound package to stand a considerable time of the order of about 24 hours, since it has been found that this precaution completely eliminates any residual tendency of the rewound yarn to snarl and become tangled during the knitting, weaving, or other textile operations. valuable, though it is not absolutely necessary in all cases, where the yarn has been given a high twist adapting it for the preparation of crepe or u.

voile fabrics, full-fashioned hosiery, and the like. This procedure leaves a deposit of the twistsetting binder amounting to about 12% of the weight of the yarn.

The twist-set yarn is then ready to be subjected to the customary textile operations, such as knitting and weaving. Such operations are preferably performed under controlled conditions of humidity and temperature suitably about to relative humidity at dry bulb temperature of 2.

F. to F. Where lower relative humidity conditions are prevalent during textile operations, the packaged yarn may be steamed or it may be stored at relatively higher relative humidity conditions, say 80% relative humidity, for a considerable period of time, of the order of l-3 days,-

before being subjected to textile operations.

After the fabric is knitted, woven, or otherwise made from yarn so processed, the completed fabric may be subjected to the customary scouring operation such as at 160 to 200 F., or to an extraction by non-aqueous volatile solvents similar to those previously employed in impregnating the yarn, at thewill of the'operator. The method of this invention thereby provides greater flexibility in textile fabrication processes with the opportunity for incorporating the 'novel procedure into such fabrication processes without a great modification thereof, thereby effecting considerable savings in equipment, labor, and solvent materials.

, While the procedure is particularly adapted to the handling of rayon, it may be applied just as well to other textile materials, such as cotton, wool, real silk, cellulose acetate,and other natural or artificial fibres.

Instead of the mannide dipalmitate solutionemployed above, solutions of any of the other specific compounds mentioned above may be substituted. The sodium soaps are preferably dissolved in alcohol. The higher fatty acid partial esters of polyhydric alcohol, such as glycerol monostearate, may be dissolved in 95% alcohol, isopropanol, diethylene glycol, or hydrocarbon derivative solvent. i I

While the preferred procedure is as described above, the impregnation of the yarn in the form of a package, these twist-setting media may be applied by whatever means desired such as rolls which dip into the bath of the medium, spraying, etc., such application being made to the yarn as it passes from an unwinding package to a spindle, bobbin, pim, spool, or the like, upon which it is being wound. In such case, suiiicient tension should be applied to the yarn as it passes from one package to the other to prevent the untwisting of the yarn whenever such'yarn is highly twisted to adapt it for the manufacture of fullfashioned hosiery, crepe and voile fabrics.

whatever the mode of application, the unctuous and firm compounds applied to the yarn serve the This procedure is especially special purposes required for twist-setting in an approved manner, in all cases being applicable to the yarns in the form of a solution thereby yielding substantial homogeneity and uniformity, and still being readily scourable with complete removal thereof from-the yarn. While serving as twist-setting media, they also serve as a siZing or dressing adapting the yarn for any type of.

weaving, knitting, or 'other textile operation, j whatever the extent of twisting that may be pres j ent therein, thereby making it unnecessary to em-- ploy complicated procedures 'or complex mixtures of compounds each having a different function" to accomplish all the necessary functions served by the media disclosed herein.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, the description is intended to be illustrative only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Textile material comprising an artificial yarn impregnated with an ester of an anhydro polyhydric alcohol with a saturated fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

2. Textile material comprising an artificial yarn impregnated with an anhydro polyhydric alcohol substantially completely esterified with a saturatedv fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

3. Textile material comprising an artificial a saturated fatty acid at least ii) carbon yarn impregnated with mannide di-palmitate.

4. Textile material comprising an artificial yam impregnated with an ester of an anhydro polyhydric alcohol with a saturated fatty acid having between 14 to 18 carbon atoms. v

5. Textile material comprising an artificial yam impregnated with an ester or a monoanhydro polyhydric alcohol with a saturated fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

6. Textile material comprising an artificial yarn impregnated with an ester of a dianhydro polyhydric alcohol with a saturated rattyacid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

7. Textile material comprising an artificial yarn impregnated with an ester of an anhydrohexitol with a saturated fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

8. Textile material comprising an artificial yam impregnated with an ester 01' a hexitan with 2 'ficial yarn having its twist set with an ester oi a atoms.

9. Textile material comprising an artificial yam impregnated with an ester of a hexide with a saturated fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

- 10. Textile material comprising an artificial yarn impregnated with a. hexide substantially completely est'erifled-with a saturated fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

11 Textile material comprising twisted artificial yarn having its twist set with an ester or an anhydro polyhydric alcohol with a saturated fatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

12. Textile material comprising a twisted artihexide with a saturated tatty acid having at least 10 carbon atoms.

' 1 ISAACP. DAVIS.

CARL SCHLA'I'I'ER. 

